Sunday 12 March 2017

Whatever Jeremy does is wrong

We live in an age of instant comment, when even the president of the United States tells us his thoughts before he's even had them. So it's hardly surprising that the leader of the Labour Party's is more often susceptible to having words and thoughts put into his utterances before they are even altered

Then of course they are deliberately misinterpreted by those in the Parliamentary Labour Party and elsewhere who wish to cause mischief and undermine Jeremy Corbyn's position. There has been no clearer example than today in the commentary about what Jeremy said about the possibility of another Scottish referendum.

There can be no doubt that if the Scottish people and the Scottish government request a rerun of the last referendum in the light of the Brexit vote then that is surely the right of the people of Scotland regardless of what Westminster, Prime Minister, the Daily Mail or even Nigel Farage(it's amusing by the way that my Bluetooth dictation software interpreted Nigel's name as barrage- quite appropriate really)

All Jeremy said was in fact echoing leader of the Labour Party in Scotland, if the people north of the border determine that there will be another referendum then no one in England or anywhere else has the right to interfere with that decision.

It is clear that there are many in the Parliamentary Labour Party and elsewhere who find it difficult to recognise that the loss of Scotland was not as a result of Jeremy Corbyn but rather the result of decades of neglect and arrogance by those who led the Labour Party previously. The crisis that the Labour Party currently faces is the loss of confidence by traditional supporters in working class areas that have been taken for granted by elitists and those who felt they could be parachuted into traditional Labour seats because they thought it was their right, their God-given right shop

The message that Corbyn has been giving out since his election as leader is similar to the one that Bernie Saunders is giving to the American left. The reason evil Trump won in traditional industrial states like Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ohio was because too many ordinary people have been taken for granted for too long stop

It is important that the Labour Party learns that lesson, with half 1 million members throughout the country it should be possible to rebuild a political base where it matters, right in the heart of those communities that have been betrayed and forgotten for so long stop

People elected Labour councillors and Labour MPs in the same way that they use to join trade unions and recognise all have is our solidarity and our capacity to work together, not to be in this together not to be just about managing but to take control of our lives and win our struggles at the lowest level as well as at higher and more meaningful levels. Labour lost Scotland because it was complacent, in order to build or rather rebuild its base in Scotland then it needs to listen not to the siren voices in Westminster but rather to the people of Scotland want something different.

There is of course a solution to what has happened, it's not simply about winning back parliamentary seats in Scotland it's about a whole new settlement. And of course it's not simply in Scotland alone any more, the elections last week in Northern Ireland has shown that the old ways are now history there is a nationalist and republican majority in the province, that cannot be ignored or wished away.

The solution of course and one that the Labour Party must embrace is a creation of the Federation of Independent countries within what we know as the British Isles. I would like that to be a Federation of republics owing no allegiance to a feudal monarchy and a system of government that is at least 300 years out of its time.

Each nation of the British Isles must have an independent and autonomous parliament and instead of the present system the second chamber, the nonelected House of Lords must be replaced with an elected Federal chamber that represents the independent nations but can cooperate on those issues like economic infrastructure, foreign policy and I even concede national defence or rather I'll concede that there should be some sort of civic defence force that can assist in times of emergency and that doesn't need bloody Trident!

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There is of course the question of the Republic of Ireland, but it would be possible for a united Ireland to be part of a Federation of the British Isles, indeed that would make a great deal of sense. This piece has travelled a long way from the puerile attacks on Jeremy Corbyn over his recognition that Scotland has changed and can no longer just be a handful of northern seats in Westminster and simply voting fodder for the London elite.

Labour may not win many seats back in Scotland, but with local MPs representing their communities and working with the grain of the people of Scotland then it will be possible I believe to build a new social democratic alliance and who knows maybe even a socialist one.

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